


HG&CC - Interludes 2 - The Enclaves

by sarhea



Series: Ripples in Water [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Alternate Universe, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-24
Updated: 2013-04-15
Packaged: 2017-12-03 10:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/697121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarhea/pseuds/sarhea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What's been happening in the enclaves after Hermione left? Little snippets from life in the enclaves until the start of the next instalment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Harry Potter

Harry Potter had many regrets for one who was only in his third decade of life. Turning his back on his best female friend was one of his greatest regrets. When she first vanished he refused to believe it was something of her own free will. He had insisted Kingsley assign an Auror to investigate (Harry was too emotionally involved) but nothing came of it. In fact evidence to the counter came to light, that Hermione had planned to leave the Wizarding World.

The news caused a lot of mixed reactions in allies and friends as well as opponents and enemies. Relief and Anger. Apathy and Worry. Some felt she was pushing too hard, too fast in her quest for change. Others feared she would actually succeed in her campaign. Some were just relieved she had taken off and was no longer causing disruptions in their calm ordered world. Others were worried for her. But as time passed the worry dwindled since there was no sign Hermione was dead. Oh she was untraceable and post owls couldn’t locate her but that was easily explained by use if Fidelius, wards, or even geographic distance. Kingsley had tried using his ministry contacts but nothing came of it.

Harry had gone to Australia looking for her and ended up finding graves for Dan and Emma Granger. They had died during the Horcrux hunt. Harry had always thought the Grangers had never returned to England because they were angry with Hermione for choosing the magical world, to stay with Harry and the Weasleys, for obliviating their memories. He had never thought they didn’t return because they were dead. Knowing he was the indirect cause of their death – because Hermione would have been there to defend them if she didn’t have to protect him – it was a spur that kept him looking. He refused to be complacent, to believe everything was all right, to assume.

Nothing had gone right since his last lunch with Hermione. He couldn’t remember Hermione telling him anything but it didn’t mean something didn’t happen. He hadn’t suspected until much later when he examined every encounter for hidden meaning. It was too rigid, too ordinary. It was impossible not to talk with Hermione and debate over **something** , even the merits of BLT sandwiches over ham-and-cheese. Something happened and Harry couldn’t remember. Unfortunately Hermione was too good at whatever she tried. None of the Mind Arts experts he went to could undo it. The best could detect a trace of the Obliviate but no one had a clue as to **what** information had been erased.

There had been some whispers about laying charges against Hermione but Harry refused to cooperate. He refused to be part of anything that would hurt her. And it wasn’t like she was hurting anyone. No one in the Magical and Muggle worlds had heard of Hermione Granger. It was like she had vanished into thin air.


	2. George Weasley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor edits as of March 1, 2013

Many considered George Weasley as damaged, broken, and they were right. George was broken ever since he lost his other half, his twin. He had lost his zest for life, his interest in causing chaos and having fun. Apathy and disinterest dominated his psyche. His friends and family had tried to coax him out of it, into ‘better humours’. They failed. George had little reason to be happy or interested in what was happening around him. He kept WWW going because Fred would kick him in the arse if he allowed their business venture to collapse but he wasn’t interested in creating anything new and funny. Why bother when his world had fallen apart?

It had worked. Most had given up on fixing him, trying to change his mind. He had become a recluse, dumb and mute at social events his mother kept dragging him to. He was no longer the life of the party, instead he stayed on the sidelines and shadows, silently listening and watching. George had learnt to spot the minor fractures in perfect façades. Oh everyone had them after the war but now they were widening and expanding. Everyone felt bad because Hermione had vanished without a trace. Everyone knew this was no kidnapping; it was something Hermione had chosen of her own free will. Each and everyone thought they had to be horrible friends if Hermione had not at least confided her troubles in them. That they had not noticed she had been troubled.

George did not think so and he did not feel guilty. Hermione didn’t make her choices without thinking it, analyzing both the pros and cons. If she vanished without a trace she had a very good reason for doing so. He only hoped she would feel secure enough to contact and inform them that she was safe and happy.


	3. Hannah Abbott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of Hermione's work, before she left the enclaves for Volterra

Hannah Abbott took a brief moment to stretch her arms and cast a Scrougify on her apron.

“Tom, I’m taking my break!”

“Okay luv!”

Hannah wove through the dinner crowd and into the unused backroom near the kitchen. Five years ago if anyone had asked her what her graduation plans were she would have promptly told them she wanted to be a pre-school teacher, and eventually a wife and mother. She snorted softly. She had never thought she would have ended up waiting tables in the Leaky Cauldron because she couldn’t afford the tuition to finish her Seventh Year, not when both her parents were dead, the mortgages had sucked all the family savings up, and she had to raise her siblings with very small contributions from distant relatives and a stipend from the Muggle government.

All her old Hufflepuff friends had been sympathetic but none had offered to help and Hannah hated to ask outright. It made her feel like a poor relation, a beggar. Thank Merlin for Hermione Granger. She had never expected the bossy Gryffindor to be so circumspect and thoughtful about Hannah’s poor financial state. Hermione had been the only one who insisted Hannah visit her flat for Thursday chick-flick nights, instead of going out to a pub which Hannah could not afford. Hermione would cook lots and insist Hannah take the leftovers home because they would spoil before Hermione could finish them. It was a scanty pretence but enough to soothe Hannah’s pride.

Hermione was the one to help Hannah get Muggle identification documents, to show her how to apply for welfare. It wasn’t a lot of money but it helped keep a roof above the Abbotts heads. Right now they were treading water but Hannah dreaded the day Brian would receive his Hogwarts letter because there was no way she could afford the tuition, and being half-bloods the younger Abbott siblings would not qualify for the scholarship fund set up for Muggleborn students.

If Hermione were around Hannah would have gone to her for ideas on what to do, but Hermione had vanished leaving only a brief note sent through the Muggle post. Luckily it had arrived weeks after Harry Potter and the Aurors had questioned Hannah about Hermione’s whereabouts. Hannah had heard she had not sent Potter or the Weasleys a similar note, that she had simply vanished from their lives. Hannah knew Hermione would not have made such a choice lightly, to leave her whole world behind… Hannah knew Hermione was alone without any living relatives. She only hoped wherever Hermione was she was safe and happy.


	4. Minerva McGonagall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More about Hermione's old job/career/cause

In a castle set in the middle of the Scottish highlands a witch grieved and wondered when had everything gone so wrong. There were so many possible moments but it was easy to consider and reject each one, all except for a particular recent one.

~o~

_“I don’t want to apply.”_

_“Do you want to be an Auror like Harry and Ron? I do agree; it’s a rather rough job. There are better opportunities available to you.”_

_“You aren’t listening to me Minerva! I don’t want to work for the Ministry.”_

_“Miss Granger, you’re acting like a child! I thought you said you wanted to make things better for everyone.”_

_“I do. And that’s exactly why I’ll never work for the Ministry. The prejudice and bigotry is too ingrained, too massive. And I’m only one voice.”_

_“Miss Granger!”_

_“Don’t speak to me like I’m an ignorant child Minerva! You know damn well how things are going to turn out once the initial euphoria dies. Back to status quo as usual. I’m not going to be a part of that!”_

_“So what are you going to do?”_

_“Freelance as a problem-solver and researcher. I solved a lot of mysteries and cleaned up a lot of messes the So-called Adults failed at so I might as well get paid for it.”_

_“Miss Granger-”_

_“I spoke with the goblins at Gringotts and they have given me my first contract. The compensation is very generous.”_

_“You will be disappointing a lot of people who are depending on you to do the right thing.”_

_“Well as far as I’m concerned I owe them nothing. I sacrificed enough of my youth to take down a Dark Lord while most of them cowered under their beds.”_

~o~

After Hermione refused to join the Ministry everything fell apart. Minerva didn’t help either, keeping her old student out of the Order loop as unreliable. When Harry and Ron followed Minerva’s example it damaged their friendship and the Golden Trio was no more. Harry and Ron went straight into the Aurors and Hermione quickly gained a reputation for circumventing Ministry law and procedure without breaking it. She took a great deal of pleasure in making the Ministry look like clueless fools, not that it wasn’t a hard thing to do. And when they sent Ron or Harry, counting on old friendships to smooth things over it always worked against them; Hermione always ended up using her leverage to get what she wanted in a very public and embarrassing fashion.

Minerva poured three fingers of Firewhiskey and sipped the potent alcohol with a rueful look.

Severus had laughed when he heard of her first victory and proudly proclaimed she would have made a good Slytherin. Minerva had been scandalized but later forced to admit Severus was right; Hermione had the makings of the perfect Slytherin: cunning, ambitious, ruthlessness and willing to sacrifice and use all her resources.

Their relationship had become strained but Minerva knew she could always depend on a monthly correspondence summarizing what was going on in Hermione’s life, in the most cursory of ways. The letters often included requests for general information on what was happening in Hogwarts and sometimes specific information or introductions.

Minerva did not always agree with Hermione’s public-humiliation tactics but she was doing **something** for those less fortunate. There were too many shattered families, orphans, destitute souls from the aftermath of the war. Oh the Ministry made a show of funding various charities and orphanages but there were too many who did not qualify and slipped through the cracks. Hermione used her knowledge of Ministry rules to squeeze stipends and galleons for her poorer clients, mostly Muggleborns and half-bloods.

The elderly witch looked into the flames dancing in the fireplace and wondered where Hermione had vanished to. Her last letters were requests for information on vampires, particularly the older covens. Minerva’s lips turned down at the corners as she thought about Hermione’s latest social reform project.

First house elves, then werewolves, and now vampires! Bloodsucking uncivilized murderous leeches! A witch of good sense would know to steer clear of vampires, all of them, nomads or covens. Minerva had not liked Horace inviting Sanguini to talk to the older students, telling lies about civilized covens like the Volturi! Pah! Vampires killed humans and that made them intolerable in Minerva’s book.


	5. Luna Lovegood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And what has Luna been doing all this time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bridging point between the enclave snips and what's happening Volterra  
> Best read after chapter 3, before chapter 4 of "New Possibilities"  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/715777/

Luna bit her lip as she cast the final packing spell, shrinking the kitchen cupboard contents into a box. She had already finished packing up the other rooms. She activated the portkey slip of paper and pressed it against the box, sending it to its final destination, a magical orphanage in Harrowglen. Most of the household goods had already been sent there. The only things she had packed for storage in her vault, or to take, were family relics and personal treasures. She could easily replace her wardrobe with more climate suitable clothes at her destination, after all it would be much warmer and sunny there.

After giving the kitchen a quick cursory check she wandered through the rest of her childhood home, the Rookery. It was the only home she had but it didn’t feel like home, not since her father died. Her lips pressed together tightly as she sat down on the bottom step of the staircase and remembered the mess she had returned to. She had not been surprised to receive the Gringotts death notice, her father had been a walking-dead wizard, only half-there since her mother there, mostly gone after the Second War. Luna had promptly made her excuses and returned from her Argentina expedition early.

Her first day in London had been a shock. Hermione’s flat had been occupied by a half-blood family who did not know anything of the previous occupant. Neither had any of Luna’s old friends and acquaintances. Neville, the Weasleys, Harry, Padma, Terry, no one had a clue of Hermione’s whereabouts. Harry had been making noises about Hermione being kidnapped but after some investigation of her own Luna had disagreed. Hermione had closed all her cases and turned away potential clients. Her vault had been emptied and closed. She had chosen to leave.

Closing her vault was a strong sign of cutting ties to the enclaves. She was not planning on using galleons or exchanging Muggle funds for wizarding. That meant Hermione had to be in the Muggle world. Knowing Hermione it would not be easy to find her there either. Luna knew it was too easy to track Muggles if you had certain personal information. Luna did not know how but Hermione had. And Luna did not want to approach Harry or anyone else who may know how to. Unfortunately magical methods to track were not working either so Luna had to resort to the methods used in Hermione’s favourite Sherlock Holmes novels. Tracing all her most recent activities and interactions.

A bell-like chime warned her it was almost time for her international portkey. She hurried through the house shrinking the bags and boxes she was taking into a leather knapsack, a gift from Hermione. Her cloak went over her summery dress made light blue cotton, her feet into a pair of sand-coloured leather flats. Once she was out the front door she raised the property wards and gripped her knapsack tightly as she pulled out the tin can from her cloak pocket. She really wished the portkey office would use cleaner materials, like a sheet of paper to make portkeys.

There was a tugging sensation behind her navel and then she was gasping from the blast of unfamiliar muggy warm evening air. She was standing in a narrow cobbled alley surrounded by stucco buildings roofed with red clay tiles. The main road was well-light with enchanted ever-glowing orbs and there were witches and wizards of all ages and classes out shopping. She ignored them made her way to a small bistro and ordered dinner, a pasta and a garden salad. She poured herself a glass of cold water and sipped between nibbles of garlic bread while she waited. Once the waitress had returned with her meal, Luna dug in and found her thoughts wandering back to Hermione.

Hermione had spent her last two weeks in Britain researching vampires, famous and powerful covens, countries favoured by vampires for various reasons. Traditionally the highest concentration was in Russia and Romania but Luna doubted Hermione would have chosen either of them. Volterra, Italy was the true heart of the vampire nation. Luna had a strong inkling of why Hermione was interested in vampires but she did not know why Hermione had chosen to approach the Volturi, to stay in Europe, relatively close to Britain. She would have to ask her when they met.

Luna signalled for the bill and settled it, leaving a generous tip before leaving. It was late and she had places to be. She ducked into an alley and Apparated.

The alley she appeared in was more modern with concrete paving stones and large iron grillwork covering the entrances into the sewers. Luna knew exactly why they were there of course. She was cautious but not deterred as she focused on her destination. It did not take long to reach her goal, a small side-entrance set deep into a very thick wall surrounding a castle fortress. She rapped sharply and waited. She hoped someone would answer because she didn’t know enough of what was behind those walls to blindly Apparate.

Her luck held true. A small grilled rectangle appeared in the door. It was a vampire.

“Yes?”

A female one.

Luna smiled warmly.

“Hello, I’m trying to find a friend of mine. Her name is Hermione Granger and I believe she may have visited the owners.”

Red eyes widened in disbelief. The vampire responded after a rather long silence.

“She is not available but I can pass a message.”

Luna’s smile turned steely. “Please tell Hermione that Luna Lovegood would like to speak to her about our old school friends and to catch up.”

The door opened and Luna relaxed as she stepped over the threshold.

“Thank you. I really didn't want to cause any property damages.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read chapter 4 of "New Possibilities" next  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/715777/chapters/1341966


	6. Arthur Weasley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Some Ron, Ginny bashing  
> I had honestly thought this set was over but then I was reading some reviews over at Fanfiction.net and found the ending/last arc changing. This chapter will help set it up.  
> Enjoy!

Arthur Weasley felt guilty. He felt guilty. For not seeing it sooner. For not speaking up sooner. For not trying to control Molly and Ginny. For not having a genuine heart-to-heart with Harry. If only he had approached the younger wizard as a friend, not future-father-in-law maybe this entire mess could have been averted, his family would not be split, half supporting Harry and half against him. Last time they had faced such a schism was when Hermione and Ron had broken up. Maybe if Arthur had paid closer attention he would have seen the reason why the Muggleborn witch had broken up with Ron. She had always been shrewder and far more discerning than Harry.

When Ron had announced his engagement to Megan Wood just months after his break up with Hermione, Arthur had been secretly relieved and pleased his son was moving on. When they announced they were expecting a child just a few weeks later Arthur had suspicions but he had not voiced them, not wanting to disrupt familial harmony. When Megan gave birth it didn’t take a genius to do the math and know Megan had conceived when Ron and Hermione were together. But no one had said anything so Arthur did not either. He had been secretly shamed by his son’s dishonourable behaviour but at least he was not leading two witches along and committing to neither.

When Arthur found out Ginny had done the same… cheated on Harry with not one but many wizards, and been blatant enough to be exposed in the Daily Prophet… Arthur could not support or defend his daughter. When Harry filed for divorce, citing her infidelity was an attack on his House and Honour, a prelude to Line Theft, the Weasley Patriarch refused to stand beside his daughter, like all his elder sons. Only his wife and youngest son stood beside Ginny. Arthur still didn’t know who had recommended Thackery Greengrass to Harry but the solicitor had been relentless and completely within the law in making sure Ginny got the bare minimum in settlement.

After the divorce Harry had cut ties with the elder Weasleys. The only times they interacted were at Ministry functions, for professional reasons, or on Order business. As far as Arthur knew the only Weasleys Harry kept in touch with -on a personal level- were Bill and George. Both his sons refused to act as a conduit or to spy on Harry. Arthur had to respect that. Molly had been furious but when Bill and George refused to step into the Burrow, never invited the other Weasleys to their own homes, always met in public, she had been forced to back off. She didn’t any more children to cut ties.

Arthur wondered where he had gone wrong with his youngest children. Both of them had loving, supportive, devoted partners and both of them cheated on their significant others! He used to think the twins were the ones who would give him grey hairs but nowadays George was the least of his worries! 

No Arthur had learnt his lesson. He would not stand back and watch and hope for the best. He was a Gryffindor. He would be brave and speak up, to voice his beliefs and views.

 

**~ooOoo~ooOoo~ooOoo~**

**The End.**

**Author's Note:**

> Next comes life in Volterra.


End file.
